Cape tourist industry sets sights on regional visitors

The marketing theme for the 2009 tourism season both here and across Cape Cod is emerging as, “There’s no place like home.”

Pru Sowers

The marketing theme for the 2009 tourism season both here and across Cape Cod is emerging as, “There’s no place like home.”

Worried that economic recession in the U.S. and Europe will discourage cash-strapped potential vacationers, tourism officials at the local and regional levels are focusing their marketing dollars on a 300-mile radius of Cape Cod, roughly New York City to Worcester. This is a marked change from last year, when the falling dollar led to what many consider a successful campaign to attract European visitors to Cape Cod.

But the dollar has gained in strength against other currencies since then. And the meltdown in the U.S. economy has spread to Europe. So the marketing and advertising strategy of Provincetown and Cape Cod tourism groups has been recalculated to aim a lot closer to home.

“I think the consumer this year — the ones who are working — will be stressed and stress is good for vacations. But they won’t take as elaborate a vacation,” said Wendy Northcross, executive director of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce.
“I think it’s going to be a close to home market.”

“Look at how many people we have within 300 miles,” said Candy Collins-Boden, executive director of the Provincetown Chamber of Commerce, referring to estimates that 30 million people live in that radius. “People are changing their vacations because of the economy. They’re not coming for as long but coming two, three times. And they’re going to do it last minute.”

As a result of this forecast, advertising dollars are being diverted from international travel publications towards more local media. Collins-Boden said she increased the Chamber’s advertising in the AAA New England guidebook and website as well as the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism visitor guide and website. She also bought an insert advertising Provincetown that will run in 17 New England newspapers this spring. What she cut back on was ads in international travel outlets.

At least one segment of Provincetown’s tourism industry is already hopeful about this summer season. Steve Tait, co-owner of the Aerie House & Beach Club, said advance bookings for his guesthouse were at record levels. He said his informal canvassing of other guesthouse owners in Provincetown showed strong advance bookings, as well.

“In terms of lodging, bookings are very strong for the summer. Ours [at Aerie House] are up 20 percent over last year and last year was our best year ever,” he said.

Provincetown’s new public relations firm, Marlo Marketing/Communications out of Boston, met with members of the Provincetown Business Guild last week to ask for input in developing their campaign push. So far, the effort has been towards making Provincetown attractive to as many different types of groups as possible, said Marlo Fogelman, principal of Marlo Marketing/Communications. Those groups include people interested in the arts, the outdoors and what Fogelman termed “foodies.”

“Those people will drive for four hours to get the best cupcake,” she told PBG members.

The closer-to-home marketing pitch is already in place for an off-season event next month, a charter bus from Boston that will bring people to Provincetown for the three-day Valentine’s Day weekend. The idea was hatched by Dan Hoort, co-owner of Somerset House Inn in Provincetown, as a way to encourage off-season regional travelers. Several Provincetown guesthouses are also running lodging specials that weekend to help convince Boston travelers to make the trip.

“I realized that when the ferry does not run in the off-season, options for travel to Provincetown … were more limited. This very affordable option will allow people who don’t have a car to get to Provincetown, those who worry about the weather don’t have to worry about the driving and it will be non-stop so travel time will be approximately two and a half hours,” Hoort said.

The $29 round-trip bus charter will leave Boston Friday evening, Feb. 13, and return the following Monday afternoon, which is a national holiday for President’s Day.

Ironically, one regional tourism attraction that might have benefited from the new marketing emphasis has gone out of business. The Gloucester to Provincetown ferry that started up last summer has been discontinued, according to Alison Nolan, general manager of Boston Harbor Cruises, which operated the ferry. The original premise that the ferry would encourage day and weekend travel between the two port towns never materialized. The ferry operator was hoping for 10,000 riders over the summer but the actual number was less than 5,000, Nolan said.

“Ridership wasn’t what we were hoping for and the expenses on the operation side were much higher than expected,” she said.